This invention is directed to a hydrazine thruster which has augumented specific impulse by heating of the gases which are the product of hydrazine dissociation.
Various space vehicles require thrust for propulsion, stabilization, station keeping, orbit changing, course correction, and even soft landing. One system for providing such thrust includes the dissociation of hydrazine. Liquid hydrazine is carried on the spacecraft and when thrust is desired, a portion of the liquid hydrazine is fed through a dissociation catalyst and the resultant hot gases are discharged out of a nozzle to produce thrust. Such devices are seen in M. E. Ellion and D. A. Mahaffy U.S. Pat. No. 3,871,828 and in M. E. Ellion and P. A. Donatelli U.S. Pat. No. 4,069,664. These disclose well-developed and highly reliable thrusters which are capable of delivering a steady state specific impulse of approximately 230 seconds. The temperature at the thrust nozzle inlet in such a thruster is about 1500.degree. F. To improve the specific impulse, thrust nozzle inlet temperature must be raised.